McQuaid names new basketball coach, flag football playbook

School is out for the summer, but high school sports and related news is something to talk about almost year-round.

Football players have put on pads for minicamps and scrimmages. Athletes ride to practices and games with family and friends, instead of on school buses. There are new faces in charge, women and men who run our favorite teams.

Justin Ritzel of the Canandaigua Daily Messenger with Democrat and Chronicle reporters Marquel Slaughter and James Johnson share what is happening in this and other Varsity Voices newsletters:

McQuaid names new basketball coach

Taylor Roth was announced as McQuaid's new boys basketball coach June 15.

Roth was most recently the head men's basketball coach at Hiram College in Ohio. He coached the Terriers since 2020 after a stint as an assistant coach for the University of Rochester's men's basketball team. Roth was also an interim head coach at New York University, and coached at Bluffton University, Alfred State, and his alma mater Baldwin Wallace.

Roth takes over for former coach Jack Leasure, who guided the Knights to a 6-15 record in 2023-24, his 11th season at McQuaid.

"An honor and a privilege. Can't wait to get started!" Roth tweeted June 15.

Flag football playbook

Flag football is one of the new sports in Section V.

The third season this most recent spring, there was a noticeable growth spurt.

• 33 varsity teams played in Section V, spread across three classifications or groups. 20 teams were eligible for one of the two 2023 sectional tournaments.
• There were two full-scale state tournaments in 2024, the first in New York State Public High School Athletic Association's history.

Jennifer Lapinski, Section V's flag football coordinator, said the number of girls who played in spring 2024 is unknown. Those participation numbers could be available in August.

"I am excited for the continued growth of the sport, but very excited for the development of modified programs," Lapinski wrote in response to questions from the Democrat and Chornicle.

"Seven schools in Section V had modified teams this year, and the development of modified programs will only catapult the already trending growth of flag football."

Longtime HFL lacrosse coach retires

Kevin O'Connell's career as Honeoye Falls-Lima's girls lacrosse coach is coming to an end. O'Connell, who is also a longtime physical education teacher, is retiring from both positions, the school district announced.

O'Connell is the only coach in HFL's 20-year history. He led the Cougars to 14 Section V championships and six appearances in the NYSPHSAA finals, most recently in 2022. In his final season with the program this spring, the Cougars reached the Class C section final but bowed out to Our Lady of Mercy.

According to glaxfive.net, O'Connell has coached seven All-Americans and 39 academic All-Americans during his tenure.

"It is hard to express what this program has meant to me," O'Connell said in a social media post. "Personally, I often have called it my third child. I cannot put into words what the 113 alumni mean to me. I feel like they are an extension of my family. I care about each one of them and follow them as they are becoming young ladies, wives and mothers."